(By Sylvester Udemezue)<\/p>\n
\u201cA great leader\u2019s courage to fulfill his
\nvision comes from passion, not position.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013\u00a0John Maxwell<\/p>\n
As the quarterly meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Nigerian Bar
\nAssociation (NBA) concludes in Abuja, the writer considers it necessary to take another look at
\nsome of the successes already recorded by the Paul Usoro-led NBA leadership between the time it
\ncame into office in August 2018 and March 2019, with a view to determining to what extent Mr
\nPaul Usoro, SAN, has fulfilled his promise of presiding over a purpose-driven, result-oriented,
\nresponsible and responsive leadership of the NBA.
\nThe Campaign Manifesto (the PUSAN Agenda)
\nIt would be recalled that towards his aspiration to lead the Nigeria Bar as its President for the
\nperiod, 2018 to 2020, Mr. Paul Usoro, SAN, had during the electioneering campaigns leading to
\nthe 2018 NBA national elections, presented a well laid-out manifesto and action plan to try to
\nconvince Nigerian Lawyers to afford him the opportunity to serve. The PUSAN Manifesto, as it
\nwas popularly called, was designed to pursue aggressive institutional development and regulatory
\nreforms within and outside the NBA; to put in place a solid framework for human capital
\ndevelopment and welfare programmes that would impact positively on the lives of Nigerian
\nlawyers and the legal sector as a whole; and to promote rule of law and good governance in
\nNigeria. The PUSAN Manifesto came with the motto: Putting You First.
\nSummary of the PUSAN Leadership Manifesto
\nWith respect to institutional reforms, the major action plan the PUSAN manifesto intended to adopt
\nin order to enhance efficiency in NBA operations, engender confidence and trust among NBA
\nmembers, and increase the moral equity of the organization included the following:
\nprofessionalizing and strengthening NBA\u2019s National secretariat and entrenching corporate<\/p>\n
2<\/p>\n
governance rules and etiquette in financial management; upgrading organizational capacity of the
\nvarious NBA Sections, reforming NBA\u2019s electoral system and succession plan and branch
\nadministration, establishing NBA liaison offices in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano, opening new
\nvista for revenue generation in the interest of the NBA.
\nPaul Usoro\u2019s promise of regulatory reforms was hinged on his promise to get the Legal
\nPractitioners Act repealed and re-enacted to improve its effectiveness, to review the RPC, to
\nembark on aggressive advocacy for incorporation of pupillage and mentoring into the curriculum
\nof the Nigerian Law School, to partner with the National Universities Commission and Faculties of
\nLaw of Universities towards a proactive review the LL. B curriculum, and to reform NBA\u2019s
\ncomplaint, investigative and disciplinary channels and processes. And regarding the aspect of the
\nPUSAN Manifesto related to human capital development and welfare programmes, Paul Usoro\u2019s
\nplan was to pursue and secure and an all-inclusive-bar, explore ways of overhauling the entire
\nframework for legal training in Nigeria with a view to meeting up with international best practices
\nin the profession, reform and rejig the Institute of Continuing Legal Education to be better
\npositioned to achieve its core objectives, and establish a model Law Office at NBA\u2019s national
\nsecretariat, among others.
\nFurthermore, the following schemes were proposed to enhance the welfare and wellbeing of
\nlawyers in Nigeria: capacity building and job creation for young lawyers, exposure and tightening
\nof noose against quackery in the profession, development of verifiable database for lawyers in
\nNigeria, provision of business education and investment planning opportunities. Meanwhile,
\npromotion and sustenance of rule of law, good governance and strong constitutional democracy
\nremained a major plank upon which the PUSAN leadership philosophy was promoted.
\nSpecifically, this philosophy was founded on the following objectives: enhancing speedy and
\naffordable access to justice, respect of human rights and obedience for court orders, checking
\nexecutive lawlessness and impunity, promoting and advocating respect for independence and
\nfinancial autonomy of the judiciary, promoting the pro bono concept in deserving circumstances,
\nadvocating the domestication of provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 to
\nthe state level. And to promote good governance, it was Paul Usoro\u2019s plan to set up a strong team
\nto monitor the conduct of the 2019 general elections and performance of election tribunals at the<\/p>\n
3<\/p>\n
various levels, to put in place an advocate masterplan on strengthening legal and institutional
\nframework for the anti-corruption crusade in Nigeria, and to contribute to building a stronger,
\ncredible and effective electoral system through voter education electoral reforms, among others.
\nImplementation of the PUSAN Manifesto
\nWhen the Paul Usoro leadership which commenced in August 2018 started putting forward the
\npromise-fulfilled slogan within just a space of seven months, some saw it as mere talk. But sooner
\nthan later, reality caused doubts to give way to belief, acknowledgement and approbation in the
\nminds of many Nigerian lawyers and the observing Nigerian public. It is now obvious that
\ntremendous progress has been recorded even though the journey towards total implementation is
\nstill in progress as Rome was not built in a day. It is now clear to all that Mr Paul Usoro, SAN, has
\nremained true to his promise of giving Nigerian Lawyers the best of a responsive, responsible,
\npurposeful and results-oriented leadership. At this juncture, a brief highlight of some of the areas
\nwhere vital progress has been recorded is necessary:
\n1. Corporate Governance: The first major step the Paul Usoro leadership took on taking over
\nthe affairs of the NBA as its president was to fully incorporate all aspects of core corporate
\ngovernance structures and rules into the management of the NBA, and to instill fiscal
\ntransparency and leadership responsibility in the association\u2019s affairs. At the NBA
\nSecretariat, it is no longer business as usual!<\/p>\n
2. Establishment of an E-portal: In line with its promise to see that Nigerian Lawyers no
\nlonger encountered any form of challenges while trying to pay for Bar Practicing Fees, etc.,
\nthe Paul Usoro-led leadership has launched an online portal for the payment processes, bar
\npracticing fees (BPF), including, stamp & seal. The NBA President (Paul Usoro, SAN)
\nwhile announcing the birth of the innovative project on 10 February 2019, gave the benefits
\nof the platform thus:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe benefits of the NBA portal include the following: (1) Increased efficiency,
\nseamless and instant payments (of all kinds) to the NBA including Bar Practice Fees.<\/p>\n
4<\/p>\n
(2) Ease of payments to NBA by and from lawyers and other stakeholders. Payments
\ncan be made online, both within and outside Nigeria. (3) Enhanced use of technology
\nfor the efficient administration of the Bar and provision of services. The benefits
\ninclude real-time information and data gathering.\u201d (See
\nhttps:\/\/thenigerialawyer.com\/nba-launches-online-portal-for-its-payment-process-
\nstampseal-bar-practice-fees-ors\/, accessed 21 February 2019)<\/p>\n
Amplifying the President\u2019s position, NBA\u2019s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kunle Edun,
\nexplained that \u201cwhat the NBA has done through its online payment portal is to facilitate an
\nefficient, stress-free, technology-driven payment process of the BPF and other NBA related
\npayments, for the benefit and comfort of our members, \u2026 the manual BPF payment method
\nhas not been scrapped; it co-exists side-by-side the online payment system (See
\nhttps:\/\/dnllegalandstyle.com\/2019\/online-payment-of-bpf-steve-suns-argument-is-
\nmisconceived-nba\/, accessed 27 March 2019)<\/p>\n
3. Domestication of the ACJA, 2015: Collaboration with MacArthur Foundation towards
\nrealization of the proposed domestication of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act
\n(ACJA), 2015 in all states of the Federation of Nigeria.<\/p>\n
4. Promotion of Rule of Law & Fight against Executive Lawlessness, Arbitrariness and
\nDisobedience of Court Orders: NBA no longer sits on the fence! The PUSAN Leadership
\nhas energized and resuscitate the traditional role of NBA as the watchdog of Nigeria\u2019s
\nconstitutional democracy, having the responsibility of promoting and sustaining
\nindependence of the judiciary, separation of powers and supremacy of rule of law. NBA can
\nnow be truly called fearless judging from its sustained and consistent efforts in speaking up
\nand fighting against arbitrariness, lawlessness and abuse of power. This is manifest in the
\nrunning battle the NBA leadership has waged against executive lawlessness, disobedience of
\ncourt orders, contempt of court, to name a few.
\n5. Protection of the Independence of the Judiciary: The NBA leadership under Paul Usoro
\nNBA has done a great deal already in its efforts at fighting off attempted external<\/p>\n
5<\/p>\n
interference with the independence of the judiciary. The case of the illegally suspended
\nChief Justice of Nigeria, is a case in point. Apart from statements and other actions taken to
\ncondemn the illegal suspension of the CJN, the PUSAN Leadership with the assistance of
\nthe revered National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NBA rose to the occasion and
\norganized and supervised a nation-wide court boycott to protest the unlawful and unjust
\nsuspension of the Hon Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen. (See
\nhttps:\/\/punchng.com\/nba-boycotts-courts-to-protest-onnoghens-suspension\/). NBA orders
\nlayers to boycott courts for 2 days (https:\/\/www.pulse.ng\/news\/local\/nba-orders-
\nlawyers-to-boycott-courts-for-2-days\/5h4msec). NBA Demands Reversal of Onnoghen\u2019s
\nSuspension (See https:\/\/www.icirnigeria.org\/nba-demands-reversal-of-onnoghens-
\nsuspension\/)<\/p>\n
6. Paul Usoro SAN was recently appointed a member of the Presidential Implementation
\nCommittee on Autonomy of the State Legislature and State Judiciary in accordance
\nwith the 4 th Alteration of the 1999 Constitution. (See http:\/\/loyalnigerianlawyer.com\/paul-
\nusoro-appointed-as-member-of-committee-on-judiciary-legislature-autonomy\/) As a
\nmember of the Committee, the PUSAN Leadership plans to bring its experience and drive
\ninto the Committee\u2019s work with a view to ensuring that the best is achieved in line with the
\ncore objectives of the Committee. Besides, it is an opportunity to showcase some of the
\nrelevant items in the PUSAN Manifesto with a view to implementing them in the interest of
\nNigerian Lawyers and Nigeria as a whole.<\/p>\n
7. 2019 Elections Observation: Shortly before the 2019 Presidential elections, the NBA
\nnational leadership had constituted an Election-Observer Committee, ably chaired by Mr
\nAfam Osuigwe, as an Internal Observer team for the Presidential and Governorship
\nElections. The work of the Committee was unprecedentedly successful and effective only
\nbecause of Paul Usoro\u2019s foresight in having selected only men of proven integrity and
\ncompetence as Chairman and members of the Committee.
\n(https:\/\/thenigerialawyer.com\/nba-election-working-group-sets-up-situation-room-launches-
\ntoll-free-line-hashtags-for-2019-general-elections\/) Our polls report, by NBA observers (See<\/p>\n
6<\/p>\n
http:\/\/thenationonlineng.net\/our-polls-report-by-nba-observers\/). Headlines such as \u201cPaul
\nUsoro SAN And NBA's Exemplary Work At #NigeriaDecides2019\u201d\u00a0 soon surfaced and
\nlittered the Nigerian social and print media space to testify to the exemplary leadership style
\nof the Paus Usoro Leadership. (See https:\/\/www.legalnaija.com\/2019\/03\/paul-usoro-san-
\nand-nbas-exemplary-work.html)<\/p>\n
8. Financial & Human Resources Audit of NBA: The PUSAN Leadership of the NBA has
\nsuccessfully undertaken both financial and human resources audit of the NBA to forestall
\nleakages and waste of resources — human, material and financial resources. This has saved
\nmillions for the NBA.<\/p>\n
9. Prompt Delivery of Stamp & Seal: Delivery of stamp and seal to applicants is now
\ncompleted within a maximum of 14 days from the date of payment, and all complaints are
\nresolved within 48 hours of receipt, unlike in the past when it took months to get the seal
\nalready paid for by verified legal practitioners.<\/p>\n
10. Seamless Interaction of the National leadership with Branch Chairmen: The PUSAN
\nPresidency has established a platform to interact with all branch Chairmen and secretaries of
\nthe NBA across Nigeria for a seamless and more effective administration of the branches,
\nprompt feedback and reporting.<\/p>\n
11. Response to Unjust or Illegal Harassment of NBA Members: The Paul Usoro-led
\nleadership has successfully waded into and resolved all reported cases of harassment of
\nNigerian Lawyers in the course of their lawful discharge of the professional responsibilities.
\nNBA has on many occasions risen in defence of members of the legal profession who are
\nunlawfully harassed by security agencies. The motto for the PUSAN presidency in this
\nregard is \u201cAn attack against one lawyer anywhere in Nigeria is an attack against all
\nlawyers in Nigeria and attack against NBA itself.\u201d Hence, NBA would never fold its arms
\nand watch any member either of the Bar or of the Bench to be illegally harassed or
\nvictimized!<\/p>\n
7<\/p>\n
12. Curriculum Review in the Nigerian Law school: The PUSAN leadership has begun
\nrelevant negotiations with the Management of Nigerian Law School towards a review of the
\nSchool\u2019s curriculum with a view to inculcating pupillage and mentoring as promised in the
\nPUSAN Manifecto.<\/p>\n
13. Quality Appointment & Representation at Panels, Regulatory Bodies and Government
\nAgencies: With the inception of the PUSAN presidency efforts are made on each occasion
\nto ensure that NBA members appointed or nominated to represent NBA in Government
\nCommittees, Panels, Regulatory Authorities and Agencies are lawyers of proven integrity
\nwith established and acknowledged expertise, instead of the attitude of just re-cycling of bar
\nmen. Apart from being a giant step in the right direction, in the spirit of having square peg in
\na square hole, with a view to ensuring that the NBA is competently represented in such
\nbodies, such innovative step leaves quite a refreshing difference in the quality of
\ncontributions made by these nominees and appointees.<\/p>\n
14. Independence of the NBA: To ensure that NBA remains independent, and free to pursue
\nand fulfil its core mandate, the Paul Usoro leadership has put a stop to the hitherto rampant
\nattitude of NBA national Leadership accepting State Governors\u2019 offer of sponsorship of
\nNBA National Executive Committee (NEC) Meetings in a manner that forced the NEC
\nmeetings to rotate around different venues and places in the country, while the NBA House,
\na giant architectural edifice located in the heart of Abuja, FCT, lies fallow. NBA under Mr.
\nUsoro, SAN, has now insisted and ensured that NBA NEC Meetings are held in the NBA
\nHouse in Abuja. Apart from several other benefits recorded with this innovative prudent
\nstep, this has also contributed in extricating the NBA from its previous attachment and
\nhobnobbing with various State Governments in a meaner that constituted a sort of hindrance
\nand also made NBA less free and independent-minded to pursue its goals.<\/p>\n
15. Cost Management: The Paul Usoro Leadership has completely trimmed the huge
\nworkforce at the NBA Secretariat in Abuja, as well as put in place measures to ensure<\/p>\n
8<\/p>\n
considerable reduction in waste of resources. The decision to permanently hold NBA NEC
\nmeetings at the NBA House is one of such measures.<\/p>\n
The writer would like to end by referring us to the words of Ronald Regan (40th president of the
\nUnited States of America):\u00a0\u201cthe greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest
\nthings. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.\u201d This is one attribute, among
\nmany, that stands the Paul Usoro leadership out — humility and foresight in selecting the right
\npeople for jobs\u2014as this writer stated earlier, putting square pegs in square holes! But it is not just
\nthat; Mr Paul Usoro also gives his team members the freedom and liberty to operate freely within
\nthe rules. This accords with Theodore Roosevelt advice, that \u201cthe best leader is the one who has
\nsense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint to keep from
\nmeddling with them while they do it.\u201d
\nAs the Paul Usoro leadership continues in its giant strides towards repositioning the Nigerian Bar
\nAssociation for a greater future, I heartily congratulate Mr Usoro on his successful hosting of the
\nNEC meeting for March 2019. However, I once again urge Mr. Paul Usoro, SAN to Remain
\nFocused and carrying along his team members and indeed everyone, in all his plans and programs.
\nFor this purpose, I recall my earlier words which I believe is still as effective today as it was when
\nI wrote them:
\n\u201cLeaders that aim to succeed must adopt all-inclusiveness as their motto, so as to be able to create
\nan environment in which all individuals and sections feel empowered to express their opinions
\nfreely within the larger group. Leaders ought also to realize that diversity of thinking is critical to
\neffective collaboration and management; thus, they must pay close attention to team composition
\nand team processes in order to fish out all capable hands to work with for success\u2026. a leader has
\nnot begun leading until the leader has learned to rise above the narrow confines of his
\nindividualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all members of society he leads, and in fact the
\nwhole of humanity. In\u00a0Jesse Jackson\u2019s words,\u00a0\u201cinclusiveness is not a matter of political correctness.
\nIt is the key to growth.\u00a0When everyone is included, everyone wins.\u201d (See
\n<https:\/\/dnllegalandstyle.com\/2018\/nba-2018-elections-a-word-of-congratulation-caution-to-winners-and-
\nall-udemezue\/> accessed 28 March 2019)<\/p>\n
9<\/p>\n
Finally, to all Nigerian lawyers, fellow NBA members, we must remain together in love and peace,
\ncooperating with and advising our leaders, on how to make the NBA better and greater, with a
\nview to elevating the NBA to a level where it becomes the cynosure of all eyes, a leading light, and
\na perfect example for other sectors and professional groups to copy from. We are not yet where we
\nought to be. But with the innovative and result-driven leadership of Mr. Paul Usoro, SAN, we sure
\nhave left where we used to be. With all hands on the deck, we would get to the promised land.
\nUnited we stand!
\nRespectfully,
\nSylvester Udemezue
\n(28\/March\/2019)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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